Electricity, natural gas and water are examples of consumables that may be delivered and sold within a metered environment. The metered environment may be configured in an automated meter reading (AMR) configuration and/or an advanced metering infrastructure (AMI). A first example of the metered environment operates according to a mobile mode or state. In the mobile mode, meters may transmit consumption messages over one or more radio frequencies (RF). The transmitted consumption messages may be received by a mobile or portable device, which may include a vehicle-based or handheld radio. A second example of the metered environment operates according to a network mode or state. In the network mode, metering devices are configured as nodes in a fixed network (e.g., a “mesh network” or a “star network”) wherein consumption messages are passed from nodes directly or indirectly to a root node or other data collector.
In many environments, metering devices have a lifetime of twenty years or more. Even gas and water meters, which may depend on battery power, may have such a lifespan. Because of the lifespan of such equipment, it may be difficult to justify transitioning an entire metering environment at once from a metered environment based on a mobile mode to a metered environment based on a network mode.